---
title: "Principles — Felix Lebedinzew"
description: "Ten principles for building with AI. Working notes, not commandments."
canonical: "https://madebyfelix.com/thinking/principles"
author: "Felix Lebedinzew"
last-updated: "2026-10-23"
---

# Ten principles for building with AI

01. **Simplicity wins.** Complexity is the problem, never the answer.
02. **Think before you render.** It is cheaper to question an idea than to build it.
03. **Change the plan.** The plan is a tool, not the goal.
04. **Question the default.** Best practice is yesterday’s average.
05. **Ship to learn.** A live result teaches more than another review.
06. **Take on the hard problem.** The difficult part is often the advantage.
07. **Evidence over opinion.** Agree on what would change your mind.
08. **Fewer handovers.** Keep the path from idea to product short.
09. **Taste under constraint.** Style is what remains when time runs out.
10. **Polish after proof.** Make it work, then make it beautiful.

Want to argue about any of this? hello@madebyfelix.com

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